Gerry McGovern is Design Director for Land Rover

Land Rover

Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...

 and Range Rover

Range Rover

The Range Rover is a large luxury four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle produced by British car maker Land Rover. The model, launched in 1970, is now in its third generation...

, leading the company's Design Studio at Gaydon

Gaydon

Gaydon is a parish and village in Warwickshire, England, close to Leamington Spa. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376.The village is at the junction of the B4100 and B4451 roads, a mile from Junction 12 of the M40 motorway, and is two miles north-east of Kineton.-Motor...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, creating concepts and new models. A strong advocate of design's relevance to brand equity

Brand equity

Brand equity is the marketing effects and outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. Fact of the well-known brand name is that, the company can sometimes charge premium prices from the consumer . And,...

, he is a member of the Land Rover board of Management.

Background

McGovern was born in Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

 in 1956 where he attended primary and secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

s. While still at the latter, he was introduced to Chrysler

Chrysler

Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....

 design boss Roy Axe

Roy Axe

Royden Axe was a British car designer.-Career:Axe started his career in 1959 with the Rootes Group where he progressed first to "Chief stylist" and then to "Design director"...

, who was to remain a major influence.
Chrysler sponsored McGovern at the Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University

Coventry University

Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institution's name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University...

) where he completed a degree in industrial design

Industrial design

Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...

 before attending the Royal College of Art

Royal College of Art

The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, specialising in automotive design

Automotive design

Automotive design is the profession involved in the development of the appearance, and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. This most commonly refers to automobiles but also refers to motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans...

.

Early career

While sponsored by Chrysler UK

Chrysler UK

Chrysler UK was the British division of the American car-maker Chrysler. It was founded in 1970 when the Chrysler-owned Rootes Group was renamed to reflect its ownership.-Models:...

, McGovern started work at the Styling Studio at Whitley

Whitley plant

The Whitley plant, situated in Whitley, Coventry in the West Midlands of England, is one of the engineering centres of Jaguar Land Rover and the headquarters of Jaguar Cars...

, Coventry. In 1978 McGovern began working for Chrysler in Highland Park

Highland Park, Michigan

- Geography :According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 16,746 people, 6,199 households, and 3,521 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,622.9 per square mile . There were 7,249...

, near Detroit, before returning to the UK as a Senior Designer for Chrysler/Peugeot

Peugeot

Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...

; here he worked alongside Peter Horbury

Peter Horbury

Peter D. Horbury is a British car designer who is currently Vice President, Design of Volvo. He is probably best known for his design work for Volvo, but has worked in a variety of roles in the automotive industry, including as Executive Design Director, Americas for Ford between 2004 and 2009...

 (later Head of Design for Volvo

Volvo

AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...

 in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

) and Moray Callum

Moray Callum

Moray Callum is an automobile designer from Dumfries in Scotland, currently design director for Ford's North American brands' passenger cars...

 (formerly Head of Design for Mazda

Mazda

is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...

, then Director of Ford’s

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 Car design division). In 1982 McGovern rejoined Roy Axe (now Design Director) at Austin Rover Group

Austin Rover Group

The Austin Rover Group was a British motor manufacturer. It was formed in 1981 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of British Leyland...

. Through this period he worked on the MG EX-E

MG EX-E

The MG EX-E was a concept car produced by Austin Rover Group and presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1985. The EX-E was a mid-engined sportscar inspired by the Ferrari 308 and designed by Roy Axe and Gerry McGovern. The car's drivetrain and chassis were derived from the mid-engined MG Metro...

 concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

, was the lead designer of the critically acclaimed
MG F

MG F

The MG F and later the MG TF are mid-engined, rear wheel drive roadster cars produced from 1995 onwards. The MG F was the first all-new car to bear the MG marque since the MG MGB, produced from 1962 to 1980...

 sports car

Sports car

A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....

 and the Land Rover Freelander

Land Rover Freelander

The Land Rover Freelander is a compact crossover SUV made by Land Rover.The current generation is sold as the LR2 in North America and as the Freelander 2 in Europe...

 (the best selling compact SUV

Compact SUV

Compact SUV is a class of small sport utility vehicles with a length roughly between . This class should not be confused with mini SUV, which refers to smaller vehicles.- Background :...

 in Europe for 7 years), and led the team that created the current Range Rover. In 1999 Ford Motor Company hired McGovern to head up and rejuvenate Lincoln-Mercury

Lincoln-Mercury

Lincoln–Mercury was a collective name for the Lincoln and Mercury divisions of the Ford Motor Company, whose vehicles were typically sold side-by-side in a single dealership....

 design.
He set up a new design studio

Design studio

A Design Studio or Drawing Office is a workplace for Designers and Artisans engaged in conceiving, designing and developing new products or objects...

 in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and became only the second design professional to be appointed to the Lincoln Mercury Board. Among his hires was Marek Reichman

Marek Reichman

Marek Reichman, born in Sheffield England in 1966, is an Industrial Designer currently working at Aston Martin. His most notable contributions include the Aston Martin One-77 the DBS, the Rapide, the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Lincoln MKX Concept and Navicross Concept Cars and the current generation...

, who went on to become Aston Martin

Aston Martin

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...

 Design Director.

Recent career

Returning to the UK in 2003 as Creative Director of Lugeii, Ford’s design and creativity centre, Ingeni in Soho, London, McGovern rejoined Land Rover as Director, Advanced Design in April 2004. Explaining why, McGovern said "Land Rover fascinates me more than any other car maker because it has its roots in pure design as opposed to styling.
Ford’s Group VP Design, J Mays, noted that "Gerry is uniquely suited to this role. He's already shown the world that he fully understands Land Rover's DNA."

Recent designs

McGovern’s first new introduction was the LRX

Land Rover LRX

The Range Rover Evoque is a compact SUV from Land Rover which went into production in July 2011. The Evoque is designed to appeal to urban buyers and meet increased CO2 emissions and fuel economy requirements...

 concept – only the second concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

 from the company, the first being Range Stormer. LRX was subsequently confirmed for 2011 production, introducing a compact 3-door, two litre Range Rover to the line up, with 130gm anticipated CO₂ emissions of 130g/km. LRX will be the smallest, lightest and most efficient Range Rover ever.

Gerry McGovern has also guided the evolution of the 2010 Range Rover, Range Rover Sport

Range Rover Sport

The Range Rover Sport is a luxury-type sport utility vehicle produced by the Jaguar Land Rover business unit of India's Tata Motors.-Chassis:...

and Discovery 4,
the latter going on sale globally in September 2009. In 2008 McGovern was elected to the Land Rover Board.